A conveyor belt is used in many industries as a means of transporting material from one place to another and have been recognised as one of the most reliable and cost effective ways to move bulk materials because they have low energy requirements, low labour requirements, and low maintenance expenses per tonne of material transferred.
A typical conveyor belt system has two or more conveyor belts situated in an end-to-end configuration. Each conveyor belt usually has two or more pulleys or drums, with an endless loop of material that rotates about the pulleys and acts as a continuously-moving carrying surface. Usually one or both of the pulleys are powered to allow the belt to move forward, thus transporting the material sitting on top of the loop of material from one end of the conveyor belt to the other. If there is another conveyor belt situated end-to-end with the first conveyor belt, the transported material is conveyed along the first conveyor belt's load conveyancing section to a transfer point between the two conveyor belts, and then onto the load conveyancing section of the second conveyor belt.
The two main industrial classes of belt conveyors are those in general material handling and those in bulk material handling. General material handling would include the movement of cartons along a conveyor belt system across a factory floor. Bulk material handling conveyor belts are used to transport large volumes of resources and agricultural materials, such as grain, pulp and paper, fertilizer, potash, salt, coal, ore, sand, overburden and other particulates and materials. Bulk material handling conveyor belts are often used in confined spaces such as in coal-fired power plants, bulk shipping terminals, coal preparation plants, and where terrain is uneven, such as in underground mining and mineral (phosphate, potash, salt) mining. The material transferred along these conveyor belts is also sometimes difficult to handle due to corrosiveness of the material being transferred and/or due to particle size.
While belt conveyor systems remain one of the most reliable and affordable methods for moving bulk materials, spillage is a leading cause of loss in conveyor material handling systems. Material may spill over the sides of the carrying surface onto the ground below and can leak at transfer points where there is not an adequate seal between the conveyance surface of one belt with the conveyance surface of another belt. Material can also escape as dust from the material to be transferred due to impact forces present with all conveyor transferring systems, and can settle onto the floor of a plant or a mine. These so-called “fugitive materials” through spillage and dust act as losses of material and are a constant drain on the conveyor system. This loss of material, particularly at transfer points, can become very expensive over time and can present a variety of other problems to the system and those people operating it if not cleaned up regularly.
For example, spillage and dust from leaking transfer points can impact a conveyor line because escaped material can accumulate on conveyor components and cause severe damage. Idlers can fail when particulate materials clog or bury them, causing idler bearings to seize and damage the belt. Additionally, the malfunction of pulleys and idlers increases friction against the conveyor belt, which drains power at a much faster rate. When this type of damage is caused from fugitive materials, equipment may need to be prematurely replaced or repaired at a great financial expense and the need to turn off the system to replace or repair the equipment can result in significant costs in terms of production time and labor. The spillage of material could additionally produce build up beneath the conveyor belts, which, if the piles of material get large enough, can contact and begin to exert an upward pressure on the conveyor belt, disrupting the conveyancing line to cause even more spillage or even cause damage to the system through carryback and the like, or could even cause punctures on the belt itself. The additional friction of the pile of material touching the rubber belt when it accumulates can affect drive motor efficiencies as well. It is thus important to clean up any spillage of material before too much accumulates in order to avoid costly conveyor maintenance.
Allowing spilled material to sit in piles under the conveyor belt system can also be a health risk, as the material can add to the airborne dust in confined spaces, which in turn can cause issues for workers who are exposed to it for extended periods of time. In addition, a concentrated amount of dust in confined spaces can cause explosions that are both dangerous and expensive to deal with in the aftermath. The failure to clean up spillage around conveyor belts can also result in piles of loose materials underfoot, causing slips and fall accidents. These industrial accidents are an expensive burden. The proper management of spillage from conveyor belts is thus important not only from a financial cost perspective, but also for reducing workplace injury.
The costs associated with material spillage include loss of conveyed material, premature conveyor system replacement costs, workplace hazards, downtime loss of production costs, and damage to surrounding conveyor structure. It would be advantageous to address some of these costs and reduce the workplace hazards associated with accumulation of material beneath conveyor belts.
However, because conveyor belts are often situated on uneven terrain, in confined spaces, and are situated low to the ground, it can be difficult to maneuver under the conveyor belts to remove accumulated material. Previous attempts to do so manually with shovels have been costly and very labour intensive, as well as posing a risk to personnel safety or else the conveyor needs to be shut down while this is done, resulting in downtime. Since conveyor belt frames are often awkward to work around with low ground clearance, access underneath the conveyor belts can be prohibitive to the use of clumsy and traditional skid steer loaders and similar equipment. Cleaning out fugitive material with water hoses is typically not acceptable, as oftentimes the material to be handled can pose dangers to the equipment and personnel when wet. Plows have sometimes been used to clear out the area under conveyor belts, but again low clearance of the conveyor belts and the cumbersome size and upward and downward movements of the plow make maneuvering beneath the uneven terrain of a conveyor belt difficult. Another attempt at clearing out the area below a conveyor belt involves the use of vacuum technology whereby a vacuum head is used to suck material out from beneath the belt. However, when material accumulates beneath a belt, often the weight of the material causes solid heaves or dried, hard masses to form which can be difficult to break. Vacuum technology is unable to address the removal of these heaves and blockages.
It would be advantageous to have a device that cleans up spillage and buildup under conveyor belts and other tight, hazardous areas where removal of material is required and where conventional use of a shovel, hosing and other conventional material clearing devices is not possible. Such a device could help avoid costs associated with repairs, reduced belt efficiency, downtime, additional labour, and workplace hazards.